FILED ON: 7/28/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 5107

Section 4 contained in the engrossed Bill making appropriations for the fiscal year 2023 (see House, No. 5050), which had been returned by His Excellency the Governor with recommendation of amendment (for message, see Attachment B of House, No. 5132).  July 28, 2022.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to electronic filing of reports with the General Court.

 

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide for the electronic filing of reports with the General Court , therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 222.  (a) For the purposes of this section, “state agencies” shall mean the executive and judicial branches of the government of the commonwealth, any special legislative commission created by the general court and all agencies, departments, quasi-state agencies or other entities of the commonwealth.

(b)  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a state agency required by law to file reports with the general court shall make any such report available online in searchable format and shall provide an electronic copy of the report to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives. The clerks of the senate and house of representatives shall: (i) make all such reports available online to the public in an accessible searchable format through the general court’s website; and (ii) create and maintain an archive of all such reports that is available online in searchable format. The clerks of the senate and house of representatives shall develop procedures and requirements for the preparation of the reports to facilitate their collection and storage. A state agency submitting a report shall notify in writing every entity that is required by law to receive the report of the availability of the report on the general court’s website and the means of accessing the report. A state agency shall provide a copy in hard copy format of any report upon request from an entity that is required by law to receive the report. Compliance with this section shall fulfill any general or special law requiring the filing of a report by a state agency with the general court.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.